Meet The Specialists

Meet The Doctors Of Burleson Orthodontics & Pediatric Dentistry

Dr. Dustin Burleson, D.D.S.

Dr. Dustin S. Burleson is a speaker, teacher, author, and orthodontic specialist. Since founding Burleson Orthodontics & Pediatric Dentistry in 2006, 1,941 orthodontists have traveled to Kansas City from 23 countries to learn from Burleson’s vision to change lives, advance the profession of orthodontics, and support his community. Together, he and his students treat hundreds of thousands of patients throughout North America each year.

The author of two Amazon best-selling consumer books, Stop Hiding Your Smile! and The Consumer’s Guide to Invisalign, Dr. Burleson has been invited to speak throughout the world and has shared the stage with celebrities and athletes who mirror his passion to help more people live healthier, happier lives. A two-time Inc. 500 | 5000 honoree recognized for building one of the fastest-growing orthodontic specialty practices in North America, Dr. Burleson was also awarded the American Dental Association’s prestigious Golden Apple Award in 2014 and the Missouri Dental Association’s Outstanding Dental Leadership award in the same year. Dr. Burleson provides over $1 million in free orthodontic care to cleft lip and palate children each year.

His practices have worked with the prestigious Disney Institute and Ritz Carlton to bring the same “wow” experience to the smiles of patients both young and old. Asked what makes his practice different, Burleson quickly replied with a warm smile, “It’s our people, our culture, and our commitment to do whatever it takes to serve the best interest of our patients and their families.” He continued, “even if that means referring them to a cheaper option in town, or to one of our non-profit foundations, when parents are unable to afford treatment at a Burleson facility.” Burleson’s offices at last count have over 30,000 satisfied parents, with patients traveling from cities as far away as Chicago, New York, and San Francisco to be treated by one of Burleson’s certified smile specialists.

Meet The Staff Of Burleson Orthodontics & Pediatric Dentistry

Kevin – Director Of Operations (BS, MHSA)

Kevin grew up in California, North Carolina, and Kansas City. He graduated from T. W. Andrews High School in High Point, North Carolina. Kevin comes to us with a strong background in psychology and health care administration. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Missouri, Kansas City, and a Master’s degree in health services administration from the University of Kansas.

What He Enjoys: Spending time with friends and family, and the new challenges and opportunities at Burleson Orthodontics.

Amanda – Clinical Assistant (COA, EFDA)

Amanda is from Blue Springs, MO. She graduated from Blue Springs South High School in 2007. Amanda also graduated from dental assisting school in 2009.

What She Enjoys: Going to the lake, shopping, and the happy smiles on her patients’ faces when they get their braces off!

Mykelanne – Orthodontic Assistant

Mykelanne grew up in Kansas City, MO. She graduated from St. Pius X high school. She loves to spend time with her family and friends.

What She Enjoys: Burleson Orthodontics’s awesome staff and wonderful patients.

Amanda – Orthodontic Assistant

Amanda graduated from Raymore-Peculiar High School in 2005 and its Dental Assisting Program in 2006. She is currently working towards her undergraduate degree in business, with plans to obtain her BBA and MBA.

What She Enjoys: Hanging out with her husband and children, the orthodontic field and working at Burleson Orthodontics, spending times with patients and helping them achieve a beautiful smile.

Sarah – Patient Care Coordinator

Sarah grew up in Liberty, MO, where she graduated from Liberty High School in 2007. If Sarah is not at work, you will most likely find her at home with her one-year-old son. Sarah has a strong background in restaurant management. She would love to continue her education to one day achieve a law or adolescent psychology degree.

What She Enjoys: Arranging flowers, baking beautiful, tasty pastries!

Kim – Patient Care Coordinator

Kim was born and raised in St. Louis, MO. She attended college at Truman State University, receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in Pre-dentistry while being involved in a sorority and cheerleading. She lives in downtown Kansas City. A fun fact is that she has had braces 2 times, so she loves to relate to our patients’ experiences and see their new smiles when the braces finally come off.

What She Enjoys: Spending time with friends, going to concerts, and exercising.

Odessa – Clinical Assistant (COA, EFDA)

Odessa grew up in a little town called Holden, Missouri, where she graduated in 2008. In 2009, she joined the United States Army Reserve, in which she is still currently active. Odessa’s favorite part of working at Burleson Orthodontics is meeting all of the patients and seeing the transformation that braces has on them throughout treatment.

What She Enjoys: Reading books, cooking unique dishes, and as much laughter as her little tummy can handle.

Cali – Orthodontic Assistant

Cali graduated from the University of Kansas in 2003 with a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology. She began working for her family’s business for 5 years and then decided she wanted to pursue a career in aesthetics. She graduated aesthetics school in 2008. Cali feels very passionate about the aesthetics of skin and teeth, as well as the overall wellness of the body. She began working for Burleson Orthodontics in June of 2014 and feels very excited to be a part of the Burleson Ortho Team. She loves educating patients about the aesthetics of teeth and where a great smile can take you.

What She Enjoys: Cooking, baking, practicing yoga, a hard workout, and enjoying a glass of fine wine with her amazing friends and family. She’s also crazy in love with her 3 lb. Yorkie named Annabella!

Loveleen – Orthodontic Assistant

Loveleen was born in Micronesia and raised in Keizer, Oregon. She moved to Missouri in 2004 and graduated from her dental assisting school, Concorde, in 2014. Loveleen is married with two children, one boy and one girl! Her favorite part of being in the Burleson Orthodontics family is seeing the before-and-after photos of patient transformations and having the opportunity to work in the dental field!

What She Enjoys: Spending time with her family and friends, playing hard on her softball and volleyball teams.

Megan – Orthodontic Assistant

Megan grew up in Kansas City, Missouri. She attended Staley High School and graduated in 2013. Megan recently returned from The Philippines. While there, she taught conversational English and got to know the Filipino people and their culture. Megan’s favorite thing about her job is talking with patients and their families — nothing makes her happier than being able to make a patient comfortable and at home here at Burleson Orthodontics and Pediatric Dentistry!

What She Enjoys: Hanging out at the local coffee house, spending quality time with family and friends.

Ashley – Treatment Coordinator (COA, EFDA)

Ashley is originally from southwest Iowa and traveled south after high school to Maryville, Missouri, where she attended and graduated from Northwest Missouri State University with a BS in Psychology and a minor in Sociology. After graduating from NWMSU, she moved to Kansas City. Ashley enjoys the patients she sees and helping them achieve their new, beautiful smiles.

What She Enjoys: Reading, watching movies, yoga, traveling, and trying new restaurants.

Brittany Tucker – Medical Business Consultant To Seminar Clients

Brittany Tucker is an enthusiastic medical business consultant and dynamic speaker with experience in training over 150 doctors across the country and internationally. Her expertise in dental consulting and sales training from a Fortune 500 company, combined with her passion for helping others, makes her a sought out and exceptional advisor. Brittany holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communication and Marketing from Auburn University, where she was a collegiate cheerleader. In addition, she holds a Master of Science in Sport Management from Georgia Southern University. Before finding her calling in consulting, Brittany previously worked in the NFL, NASCAR circuit and also served AIDS orphans in Africa. Brittany has a special interest in life coaching and is on the path to obtaining certification in order to enhance her consulting realm. She resides in the southern city of Atlanta where she is active in Buckhead Church and outreach in the inner city. She loves learning new things and likes to refer to herself as a closet nerd!

What She Enjoys: Inspiring clients to reach their goals, traveling to new places, running 10k road races.

Dr. Ashley Popejoy – Rheam Foundation Director

Ashley has been working at Burleson Orthodontics since 2007. She currently is a first-year pediatric dental resident in Chicago, so you will mainly see her when she is back in town visiting Kansas City. Her favorite thing about orthodontics is the chance to talk to and help all of our wonderful patients!

What She Enjoys: Reading and spending time with her husband and two dogs.

Associate Doctors
(Burleson Ortho Alumni)

Our offices have one of the highest-trained teams in the country. As teaching offices, our talented doctors frequently start working with Burleson Orthodontics as a stepping stone to opening their own practices across the country. Our offices have always recruited the most talented individuals, even if we know they will only be available for a short duration. Listed here are previous associate doctors with Burleson Orthodontics. We miss them and we know our patients love to follow their future successes. Here’s to our amazing team!

Dr. Ian Ballou – Orthodontist

Dr. Ballou is an incredibly-talented orthodontist. We were fortunate enough to work with Dr. Ballou in 2010 while he was finalizing his plans to purchase a practice in Texas. Our patients still remember his great sense of humor, warm chairside manner, and great work ethic (bringing lots of extended hours to our patient families). We know the city of Grand Prairie, Texas, has a wonderful orthodontist. Congratulations, Dr. Ballou!

Dr. Tara Cash – Orthodontist

Dr. Cash brought amazing experience and skill to our practice. We were fortunate enough to work with Dr. Cash from 2010-2012 while she was gaining additional expertise in Nasoalveolar Molding (NAM) treatment and preparing to move back home to Springfield, Missouri, to take over her father’s successful orthodontic practice. Our patients still ask about Dr. Cash, and they are pleased to hear she is doing well in Springfield helping patients achieve beautiful smiles for life!

Dr. Don Sanchez – Orthodontist

Dr. Sanchez traveled from Phoenix, Arizona, to work with our patients in the Briarcliff office from 2011- 2012. With over 16 years of restorative dentistry experience before becoming an orthodontist, Dr. Sanchez brought a tremendous amount of experience to the care of our patients. Known for his warm chairside manner and loved by our staff and patients, Dr. Sanchez still occasionally stops by the office to see patients when visiting family in Kansas City. Dr. Sanchez is one of a handful of orthodontists who get to work with special care patients in a hospital setting with St. Vincent de Paul in Phoenix, Arizona.

Claire L. Stroede, D.D.S., M.S.

Dr. Claire Stroede worked with Burleson Orthodontics for over 4 years, providing exceptional care to patients of all ages before finally settling on a practice location of her own in the Kansas City area. She now owns a beautiful practice with several locations in the Olathe, KS, area. Pleased to work with Dr. Stroede for so many productive years, Burleson Orthodontics & Pediatric Dentistry enthusiastically refers its patients seeking an orthodontist closer to home in the Olathe area to Dr. Stroede and her team. If you love tennis, be sure to ask Dr. Stroede about her favorite hobby. She’s also quite the accomplished tennis player!

Meet The Founder Of Burleson Orthodontics

Accepted by invitation only, some of North America’s most successful doctors seek out Dr. Burleson for private coaching. In fact, he has taught his system and philosophy to more than 1,900 orthodontists in 23 countries around the world!

Background

Dr. Burleson is an Assistant Clinical Professor in the Department of Orthodontics & Dentofacial Orthopedics at the University of Missouri, Kansas City, School of Dentistry. He holds additional teaching affiliations with The Children’s Mercy Hospital and Saint Luke’s Hospital Cleft Palate and Craniofacial Teams. He maintains a private practice in Kansas City, Missouri and is a ShareCare Expert for Dental and Orthodontic patients.

Education

Dr. Burleson completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Biology, with distinction. He went on to receive his D.D.S. with distinction from the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Dentistry, graduating with the highest academic standing in his class. Dr. Burleson then completed his certificate of advanced graduate study in Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics at the UMKC School of Dentistry, and his training in nasoalveolar molding (NAM) at The New York University’s Langone Medical Center and the Institute for Reconstructive Plastic Surgery.

Associations

Dr. Burleson continues to study the latest advances in his specialty through memberships in the following professional organizations:

Community Support

Published Author

The Consumer’s Guide to Invisalign®

by Dustin S. Burleson D.D.S.

Whether you are a patient, parent, or dental healthcare professional, The Consumer’s Guide to Invisalign® is your blueprint to achieving a beautiful smile with Invisalign®. Don’t miss this trusted resource!

Is your child hiding his or her smile? Are you worried about how his or her (crooked) smile might affect his future? If so, speaker, teacher, and author Dr. Dustin Burleson has a message for you and your child: “Stop Hiding Your Smile!” Stop Hiding Your Smile is a guide for parents who are unfamiliar with orthodontics.

About Us

Simply Spectacular Smiles

Could Your Child’s Smile Benefit From Seeing Doctors Who Do Much More Than Practice In Their Field?

Here at Burleson Orthodontics of the Kansas City, Missouri, area, we love nothing more than unveiling a once-shy patient’s proud new smile!

Did you know that 90% of the second graders whose parents bring them into our office don’t even need braces yet – even though another orthodontist may have recommended them? In fact, the majority of kids who wait until they are eleven or twelve will enjoy the exact same results as a child of eight, but you’ll spend much less time and money treating their smile.

We will never put braces on a patient who doesn’t need them. If another orthodontist has prescribed braces for you or your child, please don’t hesitate to call 816.759.0123 and schedule a free “no- pressure” second opinion with us.

So What Makes Burleson Orthodontics Of Kansas City, MO Different?

We Don’t Just Treat…We Teach
Our doctors don’t just treat orthodontic problems and pediatric patients. At Children’s Mercy Hospital, we teach orthodontists how to become better orthodontists and at UMKC we teach pediatric dentists how to become better pediatric dentists.

Our Doctors Are Parents, Too!
Two out of three of our highly-trained doctors have children of their own. The other routinely enjoys spending time with her small nieces and nephews. Because of that, Doctor Claire, Doctor Amy and Doctor Nahal can empathize with a young child’s fears.

Practice Philosophy

Our goal is to provide our patients with the highest-quality orthodontic care at a reasonable fee while maximizing patient convenience and comfort.

Burleson Orthodontics is committed to careful examination, history, and diagnosis. We use advanced diagnostics and digital records and perform a thorough analysis of the diagnostic data. Treatment plans are intelligently designed to address your concerns, and we carefully execute the treatment plan.

To attain our objectives, we remain focused on solid research and tried-and-proven treatment techniques. We also invest heavily in continuing education, facilities improvement, and a well-educated, trained staff, disregarding a “quick fix.” We feel that short-term objectives in dental care are not the way to achieve superior results.

Rest assured that we will extend to you every courtesy, consideration, and recommendation that we would to our own family members. Once you walk through our doors, you’re one of the family!

Award-Winning Smiles

Easy Ways To Get Started

If you want to explore our orthodontic practices - where we offer wide and generous payment options, where we give back to the community every day with our patients’ enthusiastic support, where we offer convenient hours and “drop in” service, and where we guarantee your or your child’s beautiful new smile for a lifetime … Burleson Orthodontics can help you in a number of ways:

Thank you for everything. I know it’s me when I look in the mirror, but I never thought I would look this good!

- Juan M.

“Now I am proud of my smile, which I wear all the time.“

- Dr. Emily D.

“Thanks Dr. B for giving me a great smile in time for my wedding.”

- Christy

“I could not be more pleased with the staff and the care and attention I have been given.“

- Pat Clyma

“We’ve had a great experience with Dr. Burleson and his staff! Both my kids’ teeth look great!“

- Julie Bonacorso

“We had several friends recommend them to us and we are extremely glad that they did. They do a great job!“

- Jennifer Bedard

“The service at Burleson Orthodontics is amazing! I love it there and recommend them to everyone.“

- Lori Stuteville

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“The service at Burleson Orthodontics is amazing! I love it there and recommend them to everyone.“Lori Stuteville

“We had several friends recommend them to us and we are extremely glad that they did. They do a great job!“Jennifer Bedard

“We’ve had a great experience with Dr. Burleson and his staff! Both my kids’ teeth look great!“Julie Bonacorso

“I could not be more pleased with the staff and the care and attention I have been given.“Pat Clyma

“Thanks Dr. B for giving me a great smile in time for my wedding.”Christy

“Now I am proud of my smile, which I wear all the time.“Dr. Emily D.

Thank you for everything. I know it’s me when I look in the mirror, but I never thought I would look this good!Juan M.

The award-winning Kansas City orthodontists and Kansas City pediatric dentists of Burleson Orthodontics specialize in dental care for your baby or child and the most advanced types of braces for children, teens and adults. With four convenient orthodontic offices in Kansas City, MO, Liberty, MO, Raymore, MO, and Excelsior Springs, MO, there is sure to be an office near you. Call 816.759.0123 today for your or your child's complimentary, no-obligation consultation for braces or Invisalign today!